Rudy, do not pass Go, go directly to jail. You are a war criminal and deserve to be sent up for treason from your profits from Giuliani Partners eminating from the phoney "War on Terror." Your Middle eastern money lust knows no bounds. Go away, stay away. And don't show your coward face around in NYC. Disgusting.

What a shame. Rudy is a real no-nonsence, get things done type. He would have made a great president.

Poor Rudy..where will we get our hourly dose of 9/11 now? Actually, his defeat reminds me of 9/11. By the way, Rudy showed great courage in his loss tonight -- much like on 9/11.

No one can exploit a national tragedy for political purposes like Mr. 9/11...well, except for Mr. Bush.

Imagine Rudy as VP under McCain with Cheney;s powers. Don't count him out yet.

Don't count him out...you could very well be looking at your next Attorney General

I guess we'll always have to wonder if Mr. Giuliani would have run the White House as effectively as he ran his campaign...

My guess is, yes, he would have.

I think what brought him down was September 11th, 2001. He just mentioned September 11th, 2001 way too many times. Some thought he was obsessed with September 11th, 2001, but I just thought he was making a strategic mistake referring to September 11th, 2001 in every doggone sentence.

It is possible the American people were already well aware of September 11th, 2001, and didn't think they needed so much reminding.

Rudy has to be seen as political poison at this point. No way McCain would consider him for VP.

"Rudy has to be seen as political poison at this point. No way McCain would consider him for VP."

Never underestimate the stupidity of a politician

I'm from NY, and I can tell you that Rudy would have been the worst person for the job.
He was ruthless in his pursuit of anyone who crossed him.
He cost the City of NY 7 million dollars in legal damages.
Finally, he is a coward. a. He avoided Vietnam by having his job as law clerk "a vital profession." b. He turned City Hall into a bunker - paranoid, and paranoia is the ultimate cowardace.
He did not have the courage to face his wife and tell her he wanted a divorce - he went behind her back to the media.
Good riddance to bad rubbish.

What other mayors went on to the presidency or other national office? I'm sure there are some, but I can't think of one.

Maybe it's not the NYC mayoralty that's cursed, but the job of mayor in general.

Pete asked: "What other mayors went on to the presidency or other national office? I'm sure there are some, but I can't think of one."

I cannot either, but I believe that may be because few outside of NYC mayors, if any, have ever been lured to the national stage. The conceit that goes hand in hand with being the mayor of New York, New York, as well as the hangers-on, the sycophants and the arrogance of the New York press, probably fools folks into believing NYC's mayoral seat is simply a hair's breadth from the Presidency.

I wouldn't go as far as Ed Koch but I don't know Giuliani personally. From this distant perch, I would agree that Giuliani represented something toxic and ugly in American politics and that frightening rictus that passed as a smile made me dread his candidacy. He should go back to running Giuliani partners with his ex priest pedophile friend and stay out of the limelight.

rudy as a.g. would be totally awesome! he could use justice department officials to walk his girlfriend's dog.

Bye bye, Rudy! See ya! Wouldn't want to be ya!

I can't believe it. Koch destroyed the city, let it get to the point where you couldn't walk down the street without a good chance of being mugged. The NYers loved him. Giuliani made the city a wonderful place to work, safe and sound yet the NYers hated him.

Gotta love them democrats!

Just for some perspective, when was the last time a New Yorker won a national race? (Hint: There is only 1 national race.) It was prior to WWI. Tall guy. Top hat and cigarette holder.

I am quite surprised that we had, for a brief period, two NY politicians polling well nationwide. Now that we are down to one, I would point out that she is fairly recent transplant with a national image that does not depend entirely on her position as a New Yorker.

Guiliani is a New Yorker, born and bred. The rest of the country does not great such people with open arms when they seek the presidency.

Guiliani never had a chance. The first pictures to appear in the national press after he announced were of him in drag. This was followed by stories of him using public funds to shuttle his mistress around. He offended something intrinsic in the voters conscienceness.

too bad koch didn't literally "destroyed" nyc; he could have been featured more prominently in rudy's fear-tastic ads. p.s.: kerik.

Koch has always been jealous that Rudy is clearly NYC`s best mayor ever in terms of what he actually accomplished. And whatever anyone tells you, he imporved the lives especially of minorities by making crime an issue that could be defeated rather than a given. Remember NYC under Koch? Dogs--t everywhere and dangerous subways. Heroin and Hookers in Times Square. Awful.

So Rudy unleashed a fascist and brutal police force and made NYC safe. And the trains always ran on time in Hitler's Germany. Gee, who wouldn't want a prez like that?

Seriously, America has just been saved from Rudy's foreign policy team, which was so war-happy it made hard-core right-wingers blush. Norman Podorhetz palpably LONGS for more war (from behind his keyboard, of course), creeping out even some of his neo-con buds.